


The Barkeep

by Eleint



Category: Original Work
Genre: (or transformation to be exact), Black Dogs, Cryptids, Gen, Implied Character Death, Small Towns, conversational, modern folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 21:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15397356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleint/pseuds/Eleint
Summary: Be kind to stray dogs.





	The Barkeep

**Author's Note:**

> Certain European folklore have black dogs as a prominent character, either as bad omens, or guardians tied to certain pieces of land. For example, the Shuck was said to represent the devil, while a church grim was meant to protect the cemetery it was buried in. 
> 
> It can be hard to tell which is which.

Certain traditions never die. They don’t change with the times, don’t grow, don’t adopt a new fresh shiny coat of paint; functions so fundamental, that even when no one can recall why they were needed, they persist. 

Our town had one such rule. It’s proudly written under our welcome sign: Be kind to stray dogs. 

Dogs were common around these parts, the dark furred mutts a familiar nuisance among the back roads and woodland, hanging around like they own the place. No one feeds them, but they don’t leave. And the rabbits don’t seem to mind. Everyone keeps to themselves, and life goes on.

That’s strange for some people; visitors, mostly, and I can see you agree.

But the thing is, we haven’t had any serious accidents on those back roads for decades; the Singh’s little girl only got a scraped knee that time Mr. Silken fell asleep at the wheel, and a dog had pushed her away. If it hadn’t been for the new gravel put down a few days before, she wouldn’t have gotten even that! Amazing, isn’t it? 

Now, not everyone likes them much, but there’s an understanding, we give them their space, and they’ll help us and ours. 

So you can see when new folks swan in bragging about putting down some beast that plagues the area, we get a little concerned: there are only so many of those dogs around – so when one goes missing, we need a replacement.


End file.
